“You were staring at myass!”
“Well, you can’t blame me for that. It’s a lovely arse. And in that little dress, it was—”
“And you—” His words register and my stomach does a weird up and down thing. “What?”
“You know it is,” he says, as if I’m refusing to admit to something that’s perfectly obvious.
“Actually, I…”Ismy ass good? I don’t know. Maybe? I’ve never really thought about it, aside from when I used to lament its size. I don’t do that anymore. Does my butt get attention? Yes, it does. But it’s not always positive and it’s frequently unwelcome. “My butt’s fine, I guess.”
“Youguess?” The light’s focused on the ceiling now, though I don’t think he’s looking up there. He’s staring at me. “Your arse is fucking spectacular.”
“Oh. I…” I swallow the automatic urge to return the compliment. “Okay, then. Um, thanks? I guess.”
“Bollocks,” he mutters under his breath. “Look, I’m sorry I’ve been a right pri—”
Something grinds above us, metal to metal, and the elevator jolts so hard my teeth clack together. In the next instant, the world goes pitch black.
CHAPTERSIX
Colin
The moment the lift lurches, I reach into the dark and grab her. It’s not a conscious decision, but rather instinct shouting at me to keep her safe.
Even after the fucking death trap grinds to a halt, I can’t let her go.
I’m pure adrenaline, arms tight, muscles frozen in place. She’s tiny, bloody minuscule, and I’m probably smothering her like this, but the shock is fizzing through me and my brain’s shorted out and all I can do is hold her.
“Sorry,” I finally manage, though for what, I can’t be sure.
Her only reply is an audible exhale—shaky, but good enough as far of proof of life goes.
“Christ.” I start to pull away.
“Wait. Wait, wait.” Her fingers claw at my back, keeping me close.
I stop.
“Don’t go. Please. I’m not…”
Nodding, I ease to the side, pressing myself to one wall while turning my stranglehold into more of an embrace, arms winding around her soft back. She clamps onto me like a barnacle.
“You all right?” It’s hard to catch my breath.
She nods, tickling my nose with that wad of hair.
“You sure?”
“Yes. Fine.Great.”
Slowly, I exhale and take stock. It’s full dark now, with my mobile lost somewhere on the floor. I can’t imagine we’ll get much more from it anyway. Just before the big lurch, the battery was at one percent.
“What, um, what happened?”
“I’ve no idea. The lift’s a right mess.”
“Probably haunted, right?”
I shake my head. “If you believe in that nonsense.”
